With the strong winds came some very mild air with temperatures reaching 16°C (61°F) in the Anglia region on Wednesday making it feel more like early May than late November.

The highest temperature recorded in the Anglia region on Wednesday was 16.3°C at Santon Downham on the Suffolk-Norfolk border in Thetford Forest.

Although it was mild it did not come close to breaking a November record. The highest temperature ever recorded in the Anglia region during this month was 21.1°C on 5 November 1938.

A bright start in Graveley in Herfordshire on Thursday morning. Credit: Carla Sears

Elsewhere in the country, more than 70 people have been rescued in north Lancashire as heavy rain caused widespread flooding and travel disruption across north-west England and North Wales.

A number of roads were closed in the area and 27 residents were evacuated from their homes in the village of Galgate, near Lancaster, before sheltering in local pubs overnight.

The Met Office said around 43 mm (1.7 in) of rain had fallen in 24 hours in
parts of Lancashire, while further north in Cumbria around half a month's rain, 89 mm (3.5 in), was recorded in 36 hours at Shap.

In Scotland, wintry showers are forecast to bring up to 2 inches of
snow to many parts of Scotland and up to 8 inches on the highest ground, the Met Office said.